Haunting at Chaotic Estate
by badboylover24
Summary: Something I wrote for Halloween/Nightmare Night. I don't own anyone; all rights go to Hasbro and other rightful owners. Discord's throwing his first Nightmare Night party in his new manor...which once belonged to the stallion who came to be the Headless Horse! Just how brave will Discord be? Sorry if there's not much in this fanfic; I was running out of time for it.
1. Chapter 1

**A Haunting at Chaotic Estate**

**Summary: **Takes place after Season 4. Discord is ready to celebrate his first Nightmare Night ever via party at his new home he fixed up after Fluttershy reformed him. There's just one problem: he discovers from his friends that his estate was once the home of the stallion that came to be the Headless Horse! Is his new home _really _haunted, or is there a logical explanation?

**Ch.1: Welcome to Chaotic Estate**

It has been a while since Tirek's defeat by the Mane Six, but all that is now behind everypony as all of Ponyville is now preparing for their favorite spooky holiday Nightmare Night. Even the town's favorite Draconequus is excited!

"I still can't believe we're going to see Discord's home for the first time!" Pinkie Pie cried happily as she bounced alongside the group of her friends walking towards the direction Princess Twilight Sparkle was heading down. "I wonder what cool chaotic stuff he has there. Ooh, I hope he still has his cotton candy clouds that rain chocolate milk!"

"_I_ still can't believe he's going to hold his Nightmare Night party at his place," Rainbow Dash stated. "Or that this is his first Nightmare Night _ever_."

"_I'm_ not surprised," Rarity stated. "He was encased in stone before Nightmare Moon was banished to the moon, and Nightmare Night got its start after that incident."

"He certainly has missed out on a lot on all those years after he was encased in stone for the first time," Fluttershy agreed.

Twilight nodded as she kept her focus on the small blue crystal around her neck floating before her and pointing her down the direction she needs to go. This little crystal was a gift to her from Discord when she got his letter inviting her and the others over to his estate for his Nightmare Night Party. It acts like a compass needle to show her where she needs to go when she asks for it, such as where to find Chaotic Estate (Discord's home).

"I'm surprised Discord gave ya that guide-crystal, Twilight," Applejack said to the lavender Alicorn.

"Well, he wanted to prove himself a true friend from now on after the whole Tirek incident," she explained. "So I guess giving me this crystal he made has to be one of them."

"Yeah, especially since you've changed his life with your Element," stated Spike who's riding on her back.

"Well, I say we owe him one besides him giving Twilight the last Key," Rainbow stated. "If it weren't for him, we'd never find out our gifts from Coco Pommel, Seabreeze, Spitfire, Cheese Sandwich, and Silver Shill were the keys we needed to open the chest. He should've been called the 'Master of _Guidance_'rather than the 'Master of _Chaos_'."

"I agree," said Rarity before her smile became a frown. "I just _wish _there was something we could do to truly thank him for helping us besides accepting him as our friend."

"That's exactly why we're heading over to Chaotic Estate," Twilight explained. "Even though he has his chaos powers to get everything ready for his party on Nightmare Night, I'm thinking maybe we can find a way to help him out just as he has helped us."

"Uh, not meanin' to change the subject or anything," Applejack said uneasily, "but doesn't this path seem…familiar?"

"Applejack, I'm sure we're not going around in circles," Fluttershy assured her, despite her own concerns.

"No, I mean the _other _'familiar'."

Confused, Twilight looked around from the small hill they've just reached the top of. Behind them is a small forest of bare white birch trees. To their left was just a vast valley, and to their right is a large clean lake.

But what's in front of them is what really made their hearts stop. It was a large stormy gray manor three stories tall, fifteen yards wide, and fifteen yards in length. It was also looks frightening like an abandoned haunted house right out of Twilight's ghost story books. There are also a couple of dark, gnarly trees at either side of the manor's front, but the largest one is farthest from it and standing at the point of the lake farthest from the house.

"Oh, no…" Twilight whimpered. "It can't be…" Just then, there was a flash of lightning and a crash of thunder (despite it's broad daylight), and before them appeared a tall, frightening black figure with a scary white face! The frightened Ponies and dragon clutched to each other and screamed…a few seconds before the figure spoke to them.

"Hey, calm down! It's me!" They stopped screaming and turned to the figure when they recognized the voice.

"Discord?" It was indeed Discord. He was dressed in a black tuxedo with white gloves and a long black cape, the kind of outfit you would wear to the opera. And a white opera mask was over the eye part of his face before he took it off again.

"Sorry, Spike," he said as they calmed down with relief. "Sorry, girls. I didn't mean to scare you. I was just in the middle of trying out my Nightmare Night costume when I sensed you coming over. I guess I was so excited to see you that I forgot to change out of it."

"Well, it may have frightened us," Rarity assured him with a relieved smile, "but now I see how handsome you are now that we have a better look at you."

"But…what are you supposed to be?" asked Spike with an arched eyebrow. "Some kind of masked vampire?" Discord turned to him with an annoyed glare.

"I'm the Phantom of the Opera!" Spike only gave him a confused blink in reply. "The novel by Gaston Leroux?" Another confused blink. "It was made into a film with Lon Chaney before a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber?" Blink. "He was played by Michael Crawford before his retirement!" When Spike gave him one more blink, Discord placed his claw and paw on his hips. "Did you even_ read_ that book I gave you?" At that mention of the book, Spike started sweating nervously.

"Uh…" Discord groaned with a face-palm in reply.

"I should've guessed," he mumbled.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, Discord," Twilight stated, "Spike here didn't even bother to read that book I gave him that talks about Starswirl the Bearded. He mistook _my _Nightmare Night costume for that old stallion at the retirement home." Spike only returned the annoyed scolding that she was giving him.

"Really? You're _really _gonna bring that up?" he snapped. "How many times do I have to say 'My bad'?!"

"Well, anyway," Discord then said cheerfully, wanting to change the subject quickly before things get out of hoof, "since you're here, how about I show you around the manor? That way, you'd know your way around in time for the party." His friends' faces went a bit paler at the offer, but he didn't seem to have noticed as he scooped them up with his long body and flew them into the house.

Upon entering the black oak double-doors that he had magically opened, Discord let his friends off his back. The foyer they had entered was large enough to be its own room, complete with a fresh coat of cerulean paint on the walls. There's also a coat rack on the right side of the doors that's actually shaped _and _made of black licorice. At the wall opposite of the doors stood a large fireplace made of green limestone with a roaring green fire. And above it stood a portrait of Discord accompanied by the Mane Six, Spike, Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna. There are also a couple of pink-polka-dotted chairs and a side table with purple zigzag stripes.

"Welcome to Chaotic Manor of Chaotic Estate," Discord announced to his friends as they looked around in awe. "We'll start our tour with the foyer, where you can hang your coats and hats on the coat rack or warm yourself by the fire." Twilight quickly snapped out of his thoughts, remembering what she has to tell her friend.

"Discord, I'm afraid to tell you this, but—"

"I know, I'm still working on the redecorating," he interrupted with a shrug. "I'm thinking about changing the wall color to give it a Nightmare Night theme for the party."

"No, Discord, that's not what I—"

"I'm thinking about making them red and doing the same with the fire in the fireplace to give it that eerie glow, but I need Rarity's opinion. Do you think I should go for crimson walls or—"

"DISCORD, YOU'RE LIVING IN A HAUNTED HOUSE!" Twilight quickly slapped her hooves over her mouth as the others turned to her with shock, even the wide-eyed Discord. She then looked up at him sheepishly before giving him a "Sorry…" more meekly than Fluttershy would do.

"Oh, nice going, Twilight," Rainbow said sarcastically. "Way to lay it on him easy!"

"Well, _you _would have done the same yourself, darling, if you're trying to tell him that but he wouldn't stop talking," Rarity stated before turning to the Draconequus. "And I agree with the crimson walls, Discord, but for the flames, I would suggest autumn colors." Discord then snapped his claws, and the blue walls dissolved into crimson. The flames in the fireplace did the same, but they change from scarlet to amber to gold back to scarlet like some sort of lava lamp.

"Thanks, Rare," he said to her with a smile. "It _does _look better now that I have a better look at it." He then turned to Twilight with an arched eyebrow. "And what's this about my new manor being haunted, Twilight?"

"Well…you know the stories of the Headless Horse, right?" asked Rainbow.

"Yeah, I've heard the stories," he answered with a bit of thought, "but what's it got to do with my home?"

"Thing is, Discord…" Applejack answered with a slight gulp, "yer home's believed to have belonged to him."


	2. Chapter 2

****Ch.2: Origin of the Headless Horse****

A short while later, Applejack came into the sitting room/library with Granny Smith. When the elderly Pony heard about Discord's haunted house situation, she agreed to come over despite the rumored estate. After all, Discord's been such a dear to her with his helping with the baking while Applejack's out, and she's quite fond of "that darn rascal".

The sitting room library has been decorated as well for the party: cobwebs on the bookshelves; orange streamers with paper lanterns bearing the silhouettes of Nightmare Moon; and some black bat decorations that seem to be flapping their wings all by themselves.

"Hi, Granny!" Pinkie said, waving to the two Earth Ponies from the cushions that Discord had provided for them on the large red carpet by the chocolate-bar fireplace with its white fire. "You're just in time; Discord brought us snacks!"

Discord has indeed brought them snacks, samples for the food he's serving for his party. He has also made some tea for Fluttershy, Rarity, and Granny Smith (herbal peppermint, to be precise). Applejack then helped her grandmother settle down onto a pale green cushion as Discord then poured her a cup.

"Thanks for coming over, Granny Smith," he then said to her as Fluttershy then took the cup over to the older Pony. "Applejack and the girls told me that since you've been here since Ponyville was founded, so I figured you might know more about this place more than they do."

"Ah, I see they've told you about yer new home," she replied with a nod before taking a sip of the refreshing drink. "Well, I have heard the story behind this old place from my grandfather Apple Plump. He knows the story 'bout the Headless Horse as well because he knew him before his unfortunate demise." Everyone's eyes went wide at those words.

"WHAT?! Granny, ya never told _me_ that!" Applejack stated with shock.

"Well, I didn't wanna scare ya," her grandmother explained. "You were 'round Apple Bloom's age back then."

"Oh…"

"Sooo…what can you tell us about what your grandfather told you about the Headless Horse?" asked Rainbow, obviously psyched about this connection between the Apple Family and the feared legend.

"Well, before he came to be the Headless Horse, that feller was once a Unicorn knight in Princess Celestia's Royal Guard," the pale green Pony answered. "His name was Midnight Gallop, and he was very heroic indeed.

"There were many stories 'bout Midnight Gallop. Some say he gallops through the streets of Canterlot at night, hunting for villainous Ponies wanting to do harm to the innocent. Some say that he uses his horn as a weapon rather than a sword. Others say that he had an interest in the supernatural due to unexplained encounters his father and grandfather before him had in their time.

"My grandfather knew Sir Midnight cuz he saved him from some bandits attempting to jump him. As I said before, he was always there to help the innocent.

"Anyway, Sir Midnight lived in this very estate which lives on the outskirts of what would come to be Ponyville. And he loved Nightmare Night as much as anypony else here. In fact, every Nightmare Night, he held a party here and invited friends and family, old and new, to join in the festivities with him. Everypony back at his time agreed that he held the best Nightmare Night parties." Granny's smile then became a frown. "Then that fateful night came…"

"What happened?" Rarity asked, not feeling up to finishing her strawberry-rose tart, as she was too engrossed into the story.

"It was around twenty to thirty years before my family first settled into what would later be Ponyville," the elder Pony answered, "Nightmare Night exactly. Sir Midnight left the party and his manor to get some fresh air and stood by the lone tree by the lake to view its beauty under the harvest moon. One of the guests who learned that information went out to fetch him in time for their ghost storytelling get-together…only to witness another Pony with him swing his axe and…" Granny then dragged her hoof across her throat with a cutting noise in her throat, making their faces turn pale.

"He chopped his head off?!" Twilight cried, her hooves on her own throat. Granny nodded in answer.

"Spike, you have the rest of this," Discord said, handing the little dragon his half-eaten apple fritter with a pale face. "I lost my appetite all of a sudden." Granny just continued:

"The witness stated that the murderer was her former fiancé with whom she broke off the engagement due to his insane obsession with her. When they caught him, he admitted like a maniac that he _did _murder Sir Midnight because he accused him of stealing away his fiancée. He also claimed that the headless body never fell to the ground but reared up with rage at its murderer before galloping away into the night. Some say he is insane as his former fiancée said. However, it's possible that Sir Midnight used his Unicorn magic to conjure up a dark magic spell at the last minute to make him immortal even without his head. Either way, they never found the body _or _the head.

"And that was how the Headless Horse came to be." Granny then sipped her tea.

"Wh-Wh-Whatever happened t-t-to the head?" Spike asked, the fritter shaking in his claws.

"No one knows," Granny answered with a slight shrug. "Some say it flew and landed into the very center of the lake when it was slashed off. Others say the murderer took it away and hid it somewhere where the Headless Horse could never find it. Either way, legend says every Nightmare Night, the Headless Head would come galloping to the lone tree by the lake, searching for it in vain. And they say that if anypony is there, it will steal him away to use his head as a temporary replacement until its real head is found…"

_SNAP! CRACKLE! _"AAUUGH!" Everypony but Granny cried out at the noise that came out of the fire. But upon noticing that it was only the fire, they chuckled at how silly they were acting.

"I need another drink," Discord sighed, pouring himself another glass of apple cider. "Of course, it's just something that nutcase made up, right?"

"Some believe so, but he kept on claiming it's the truth," Granny answered. "Those who didn't believe him think he's driven mad by losing his fiancée."

"Judging by your question," Rarity then asked, "I take it this ghost story about your new home doesn't affect you so badly, Discord?"

"Well, it did frighten me a little, but Nightmare Night _is _about ghost stories and other spooky stuff," Discord answered with a sip of his cider. "Even Pinkie Pie here knows that it's fun to get scared on Nightmare Night. And even a smart Pony like Twilight knows that there are no such things as ghosts and that there's always a logical explanation for these sort of things."

"Yeah, but that's only because she's too ignorant to pay attention to what's outside her own books," Spike grumbled, wincing when Twilight shot him a seething glare.

"Spike, one more comment like _that_, and no gems for a week!"

"He does have a point, Twilight," Applejack stated. "Remember that Timber Wolf incident? You were so into your studying that ya didn't react when he told ya he owed me one fer savin' his life, and ya didn't even stop 'im from—"

"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT! I GET IT! I NEED TO PAY _LESS _ATTENTION TO MY BOOKS!"

"Anyway, I can't let this Headless Horse, real or not, stop me from holding my party," Discord stated before bringing out a mailbag stuffed with letters. "I just got all these RSVPs from Derpy before you got here, all of them saying yes." Pinkie's eyes went wide with delight.

"They're really coming?"

"Of course, they are," he chuckled, showing them the RSVPs. "Cheerilee and the kids seemed extra excited."

"Probably from hearing that you're living with a spooky legend," Rainbow laughed before a thought came to her. "Wait, you're not inviting Diamond Tiara, are you?"

"Why not?" he answered with a slight shrug. "It seems only fair."

"But aren't you _still _in a bit of trouble with her?" asked Rarity.

"What trouble?" asked Twilight. Before Discord could answer her, one of his decorations, a red paper bat, fluttered over to him and squeaked into his ear. He then smiled when he understood and stood up from his tall red chair.

"They're here."

"Who?" asked Fluttershy.

"Hello, Fluttershy," a small but familiar voice greeted her. She turned with surprise, and there fluttering before her was her little Breezie friend.

"Seabreeze!" she gasped before giving him the tiniest hug she could muster. The Ponies then saw that with him are their other friends responsible for giving them their Keys of Harmony: Cheese Sandwich; Coco Pommel; Spitfire; and Silver Shill.

"CHEESE!" Pinkie cried, tackling him with a hug. "Oh, I've missed you so much!" Twilight then turned to Discord with a smile as the others went to greet the new guests whom they have not seen for quite some time.

"You've invited them over here, huh?"

"I just want my first Nightmare Night to be wonderful for everypony," he stated before giving her a sly smirk. "Besides, I couldn't help but get the nagging feeling that Cheese has it bad for Pinkie…if you know what I mean~"


	3. Chapter 3

****Ch.3: Always Amazing Discord****

A short while later, Discord, Spike, the Ponies, and their newfound friends went to the marketplace so that they can get the things needed for their costumes. Although Discord had already finished his own costume, he felt like it should be fair to help out his friends anyway he could. Twilight agreed to this, thinking it would be nice for Discord to come out into Ponyville now that he's accepted into its society.

As they pass through, many of the other Ponies they passed greeted them, especially Discord.

"Hello, Discord," Cheerilee said to him with a smile. "I just want to thank you again for inviting the children and me to your party. We certainly can't wait for it."

"I can't wait either, Cheerilee," he replied with a wave and a smile. "I just know the kids are gonna look cute in their costumes."

"Ooh, speaking of cute, lookie!" Pinkie cried, pointing ahead of them. They then saw that it's the Cakes by one of the stands. Cup Cake was helping little Pumpkin into a pair of wings, and Carrot Cake was trying a pair of antennae with jingle bells on little Pound. The twins' faces lit up when they saw their favorite foal-sitter.

"Pinkie!" they cried out with delight. Their parents looked up and smiled when they saw the others approaching them.

"Hi, babies," Pinkie said cheerfully. "Guess what? We got some new gue-ests~!" She then held her hoof out to Cheese who was next to her. "You remember Cheese Sandwich; he organized Rainbow Dash's birth-aversary party."

"With a little help from the Pony who inspired me," he chuckled with a beaming smile.

"Why, Cheese," Mrs. Cake said with a smile. "It's good to see you again."

"Yes, we haven't seen you since Rainbow's party," Mr. Cake stated. "Well, save for the letters and photos you've been sending Pinkie Pie. Such as that party you've put together in Prance with Gustave le Grand as the caterer. Speaking of, how was he?"

"Doing alright; he even asked about you and Pinkie when he learned that I knew her." Mrs. Cake then looked up at Discord, the smile still on her face.

"Oh, Discord, you've arrived just in time to see the twins in their first Nightmare Night costumes. After watching the Breezies fly through Ponyville, we just had to choose these for their costumes."

"Aww, and they look so adorable," he chuckled, gently poking Pound's bell to make it jingle and make the twins giggle. "You had quite an influence on them, Seabreeze." The Breezie riding on his shoulder nodded with a smile.

"With his antennae, he reminds me of my cousin Silverbell."

"Wait," Discord asked, turning his gaze to him with an arched eyebrow. "You have a cousin named Silverbell?"

"Did I forget to mention that?"

A short while after meeting up with the Cakes, the group was suddenly greeted by an all-too-familiar voice.

"Well, well, well…If it isn't the Always Amazing Discord." They turned to see that it was Diamond Tiara with that snobby arrogant look in her eye. Next to her was Silver Spoon, who just waved to Discord with a dreamy smile.

"H…Hi, Discord…" The Draconequus just gave her a smile.

"Hey, Silver Spoon. Glad you're here; I want you to meet a friend of Apple—"

"You're a real piece of work, you know that, Discord?" Diamond snapped at him, catching him off guard. "Inviting everypony to your party before _I _could? You just _had _to go and show me up again!" Discord only rubbed the bridge of his nose with an annoyed groan.

"Diamond, how many times do I have to tell you that I'm not trying to show you up? Besides, from what I heard from Cheerilee, I've sent those invites way before you even _decided_ to have a Nightmare Night party at your place."

"Hmph, says _you_!"

"Hey, Rainbow," Spitfire whispered to the other Pegasus, "who's the hothead?"

"That's Diamond Tiara," Rainbow whispered back, "Ponyville's number one spoiled brat. She's also harassing Scootaloo and the girls just because they don't have their Cutie Marks yet."

"Come on, Diamond," Spike said to the filly with a glare. "Just be grateful Discord even _invited _you to his party in the first place." She only gave a smug smirk.

"Does he even know that his new home where his party is happens to be haunted?" Discord only rolled his eyes with an annoyed grunt.

"Again with the Headless Horse story? Give me a break, Diamond; even Princess Twilight knows it's just a story."

"Yeah," Spike laughed, "you must be a real Derpy clone to believe it's true." Above them, Derpy the cross-eyed Pegasus let out a sneeze in mid-flight.

"Oh," she groaned, rubbing her nose, "am I coming down with something already?" Back on earth…

"What did you call me?!"

"Now, Diamond," Discord said quickly as Twilight scolded the baby dragon for that insult, "I'm sure Spike meant it in a good way."

"No, I didn't," he replied.

"Spike, shut up!" Diamond only fumed more.

"Well, if I were _you_, Discord, I'd cancel that stupid party, leave Ponyville, and never come back!" Before anypony else could respond…

"Diamond Tiara, you take that back right now, young lady!" They all turned to see Filthy Rich approaching them with an angry look on his face.

"But…But, Dad—" her daughter started.

"No buts!" he barked. "Apologize to Discord right now, or you're grounded for a month!" With a scowl at her father, Diamond hesitated.

"Sorry, Discord…" She then left to find her mother, and Filthy sighed before turning to the Draconequus more calmly now.

"I'm very sorry about what my daughter said, Discord. If you don't want her to come to your party, I understand and make sure she's punished for it."

"Nah, it's okay, Mr. Rich," Discord stated, waving his claw a bit to brush it off. "It wouldn't be fair if she's the only one in her class not coming." The stallion sighed in reply before looking up at him with a smile.

"Very well. Thank you for understanding." He then left to find Diamond. Before leaving as well, Silver Spoon turned to Discord with a lovestruck smile.

"I'll see you at the party then, Discord," she said with a swooning sigh before she skipped away.

"Yeah, see ya, Silver Spoon," he said, chuckling awkwardly. He then turned to the others. "Sorry you had to see that."

"What was that all about anyway?" Silver Shill asked.

"Well, apparently the kids in Cheerilee's class are enjoying some of my entertainment," he answered with a slight shrug, "including the Cutie Mark Crusaders. And it's putting a bit of a damper on Diamond Tiara's social life just because I'm actually_ doing_ my talents on my own rather than having somepony else do them for me."

"Such as…" Twilight asked, making Discord blush awkwardly.

"Well, fer starters," Applejack answered for him, "he juggled ten apples with only his tail 'n' never dropped a single one."

"And when he brought out a skating rink for them," Rarity added, "he skated for them like a figure skater straight out of the Equestria Games."

"Are those why Silver Spoon was swooning over ya like a fan-filly?" Spitfire giggled.

"Actually," Discord answered awkwardly, "she started swooning over me last week when I…uh, when I…"

"He played the saxophone like a star jazz saxophonist," Rainbow finished for him. The others blinked at him in awe.

"You got her swooning over ya with a saxophone solo?" Spike laughed.

"Apparently," Discord grumbled with a blush, "she's got a thing for saxophonists."


	4. Chapter 4

****Ch.4: Chaotic Heroics****

Later into the morning before the Nightmare Night party, everypony was at Chaotic Estate getting everything ready for the party, apparently too excited to worry about the story behind it. Even the Cutie Mark Crusaders came along to help out.

"Where do you want this bowl, Discord?" Scootaloo asked, a black bowl on her and Apple Bloom's backs. The Draconequus then looked at the buffet table with a bit of thinking.

"I think right here," he answered, taking the bowl and placing it on the table next to a bowl of guacamole. "I can fill it with tortilla chips."

"I got them right here," Sweetie Belle said, handing him the bag of said chips.

"Thanks, Sweetie," he replied, taking the bag. As he filled up the bag, he turned to see Pinkie and Cheese Sandwich tossing the orange and black streamers up to Rainbow and Spitfire. "Thanks for helping me out, guys."

"It's the least we can do, darling," Rarity replied as she hung up a cutout of Nightmare Moon. "You've done so much for us, like inviting the friends whose lives we've changed and got the Keys of Harmony for it."

"Plus, each of us Key-Givers get to meet each other," added Coco Pommel as she put up the orange-and-black striped candles. "I just know this Nightmare Night is going to be so much fun."

"You must be pretty brave to not believe in the story of the Headless Horse, Discord," Silver Shill stated, helping Applejack with the punchbowl.

"Well, I wouldn't say brave, Double S," Discord chuckled. "I just think there's a more logical explanation like Twilight would say."

"Still, if there _is _such thing as a Headless Horse," Rainbow said with a smirk, "I'll bet ten bits you can take 'im on."

"Well, there is something about the story that bothers me," Discord stated with a shrug. "I mean, getting your head chopped off over a misunderstanding involving an ex-mare-friend. I've heard of crimes of passion, but that just feels heavy." He fell to the floor when a 1-ton weight tied to his tail pulled him down abruptly.

"I agree," Fluttershy said as she and Seabreeze set the punch glasses by the punchbowl. "It just sounds so sad that someone as heroic as Sir Midnight Gallop has to become a feared terror."

"Yeah, Granny Smith did say that he's—"

_**BAM! **_Everypony shot their heads up when they saw Spike run into the room like Tirek was on his tail.

"HELP! THE HEADLESS HORSE IS AFTER ME!"

"Spike," Twilight started, "there's no such thing as—"

"THE HEADLESS HORSE!" Pinkie screamed, pointing at the doorway. They all saw that she was right. Rearing up at the doorway was a black Pony with a flowing black tail and absolutely _no head!_

"RUUUUN!" Twilight screamed, and everypony ran for cover with screams as the Headless Horse galloped into the room. Everypony but Discord, who saw that Spike had tripped on the carpet.

"Spike!" He then rushed forward, putting himself between the dragon and the headless terror. With a quick snap of his fingers, he had the streamers shoot out and wrap around the Headless Horse, tying it up and lifting it up into the air. Discord then turned to Spike with a look of worry.

"Spike, you oka—" He was suddenly cut off when the struggling Headless Horse screamed out.

"HEEELP! SOMEPONY GET ME DOWN!" Discord turned to the headless phantom as the others rushed up to him and Spike.

"Wait just a minute," he said suspiciously before having the streamers bring their prisoner closer to him. He then pulled the neck off and revealed…

"Diamond?" It was indeed Diamond Tiara under the fake neck. The others then saw that she was running on stilts in the costumes legs to make herself look taller. Discord then looked down firmly at the intimidated filly.

"You are in serious trouble, young lady."

A short while later, Filthy Rich came over and scolded his daughter for pulling off such a cruel joke.

"Diamond Tiara, what were you _thinking_?! Discord is a friend of Princess Twilight; you can get into serious trouble with her!" Said Draconequus then placed a paw on his shoulder to calm him down.

"Maybe we should hear _why _she did that," he said to him, although he is rather annoyed with her as well. She then looked up at him sadly.

"I did it to scare you away, Discord." He blinked with surprise before she went on. "I was getting sick and tired of you always making me look bad. Everypony at school chose to ignore _my _performances just because it was my butler doing them instead of _me_. Even Snips and Snails made me mad by saying I don't have any actual talent because I didn't actually _do _anything. And it was the last straw for me when Silver Spoon started to swoon over you and your saxophone playing. So I put together the Headless Horse costume to scare you away so you'd cancel your party and never come back. But…" She looked away sadly. "You were too brave for even the _real _Headless Horse to handle." Discord only gave her a comforting frown.

"Actually, I _was_ scared back there." She, her father, and Spike looked up at him with surprise.

"You were?"

"Yeah," he said before turning to Spike. "When I saw Spike trip on the rug, I thought that 'Headless Horse' was gonna hurt him by trampling him or something. That's why I ran in there." The little dragon looked down in shame.

"I didn't mean to worry you like that, Discord." He only ruffled his spines with his tail.

"I know. I just didn't want ya to get hurt."

"I…I haven't thought about that part," Diamond replied, serious regret in her voice. "I was only trying to scare Discord away; I wasn't meaning to hurt anypony." Discord only gave her a smile.

"If your best friend Silver Spoon swooning over me was bugging you, why didn't you just talk to her about it?" She looked down in shame.

"I was afraid she would stop being my best friend because she thought I was being jealous…which I guess I was." Discord then ruffled her mane gently.

"Hey, just because you were getting a little jealous doesn't mean she'd stop your best friend. You just needed to talk with her and be honest with her. I forgive you for pulling off that prank since no one got hurt, and you're still invited to the party. " Diamond then looked up at him with a small smile.

"Thanks, Discord…and I'm sorry." Filthy then gave her a smirk.

"And you can think about how sorry you are when you'll be helping his friends clean up after the party," he said before turning to Discord. "Does that sound like a good enough punishment for you?"

"Sounds fine to me," he answered with a nod.

_Well, _Diamond thought to herself, _at least it beats getting grounded for life._


	5. Chapter 5

**Ch.5: Twist Ending**

_Putting together my party at my new manor has to be the best way to celebrate my first Nightmare Night. True, it's said to be Equestria's spookiest holiday, and my new home was rumored to once be the home of the infamous Headless Horse, but I didn't let those bother me._

_Everypony has a certain thing to be scared of. But sometimes talking to someone about those fears instead of keeping them bottled up inside will make you feel braver._

_And it's like Twilight said: "For every haunted rumor, there's always a rational explanation that doesn't involve ghosts." Even though a few spooks would really make Nightmare Night truly spook-tacular._

Discord twirled his red peacock feather on his claws, and it vanished with a green-and-blue wisp. Then he closed the journal before putting it back into Twilight's saddle-pack. Now that his journal entry's finished, he can enjoy the party.

He turned with a smile at how great the party's turning out. The Cutie Mark Crusaders (plus Babs Seed) were dancing with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, who understood how uncomfortable her best friend was at her swooning over their host and decided not to do it too much (except when he's playing the saxophone). All six fillies were dressed like the Power Ponies, making Discord want to chuckle.

Besides the kids and the other guests from Ponyville, the Mane Six and the other five Key-Givers were enjoying themselves. Twilight (as Starswirl the Bearded as usual) and Coco Pommel (as a fox) watched with giggling smiles as Rarity (as a sexy vampire) danced with Spike (as Hum Drum). Pinkie (as a Mer-Pony) was also dancing, and with Cheese (as a mariachi guitarist). At the buffet table, Rainbow (as Daring Do) and Spitfire (as a Shadowbolt) chatted with Applejack (as a Native American) and Silver Shill (as a cowboy). And Fluttershy (as a swan ballerina) and Seabreeze (as a monarch butterfly) were with Cheerilee (as an Egyptian queen). Every single one of his guests is really enjoying himself.

_Looks like I've really outdone myself_, Discord thought to himself as he looked out the window…and saw a figure by the lone tree by the lake, rearing up at the full moon as if wanting to grab it. It looked like a Pony, but…it has _no head_!

_What the—_Discord took off his Phantom of the Opera Mask and rubbed his eyes with the fingers of his paw. When he opened them again, the headless figure was gone.

_Was that really…?_

"Hey, Discord!" Pinkie called, snapping him out of his thoughts. "C'mon; they're playing your jam!" He turned to his friends on the dance floor before turning back to the window to see the lone tree under the moonlight and nothing else…and smiled knowingly. Then he put his mask back on and went onto the dance floor to join his friends.

**THE END…?**


End file.
